Dreaming With A Broken Heart
by Silent Metronome
Summary: Waking up. Giving up. All while trying to keep himself together. Can he prevent himself from falling to pieces before his broken heart overthrows him? Semi-sequel to "Concrete Angel." Songfic to "Dreaming With a Broken Heart" by John Mayer. LeexTen.


_**A/N: I apologize for not writing in... a year? I don't really have an excuse for that, so I guess a written apology is all I can do. I'm sorry!**_

_**Anyway, this story is sort of the sequel to "Concrete Angel," I guess. I couldn't think of how to finish that story, so I branched it off into this one instead. It's going to have more than one chapter. **_

_**By the way, I gave up on Naruto after it became clear that the show was never going to end, ever. So this story doesn't follow the series at all. It follows my own story line, which you probably already figured out. **_

_**I hope you enjoy it! **_

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart,_

_the waking up is the hardest part._

She was there. She was there with him.

He looked over to her sleeping form. She was almost completely covered in a red blanket; just her head could be seen under the warm fleece. As he watched, she turned onto her side and curled up, like a baby kitten. A smile broke on his face, and he leaned over, stroking her cheek gently. She sighed in her sleep, just as another peal of thunder rumbled ahead.

Rock Lee loved nights like this. The weather in Konoha had become increasingly worse as summer closed in on the small town. Most people grumbled about the constant storms and muggy weather, but Lee couldn't be happier when the weather was at its worst, though he couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

Maybe it was because of the memory that accompanied nights like this. Exactly three months ago, he had ran all ten miles to the hospital, with a broken Tenten in his arms, as a storm whipped up around him. He had sat in the waiting room for hours, fists clenched with nerves and his soaked green suit sticking to his shivering skin, as Sakura and her attendants fought to save the girl he knew he couldn't live without. It was a little after midnight when Sakura walked out, looking as exhausted as Lee felt. He jumped to his feet, adrenaline pulsing through him, and stared straight at the pink-haired healer.

"Well?" Lee blurted out after seconds of tensed silence. Sakura took a few steps towards Lee, her face straight and serious. Lee's heart sank with the weight of what he felt was coming. Then, suddenly, Sakura smiled.

"Tenten's alright, Rock Lee. We saved her."

Lee's eyes widened with disbelief as he stared at the smiling kunoichi. "She's... alive?" he asked incredulously. Sakura nodded. Her smile grew bigger, sending the shine to her round eyes.

"It took the chakra of almost every doctor and nurse we had, but we managed to bring her back, just in time. She's still in critical condition, though. We'll have to keep her here until we're sure she's stable enough to go back home."

_She's alive_. Lee collapsed onto the nearest chair in shock. _She's ALIVE. _He let the thought sink in until a wide smile broke through his disbelieving expression. "She's alive!" The chair flew backwards as Lee jumped up, enveloping Sakura in a giant hug. She staggered back under the power of his bear-hug. Giddy laughter erupted from him, and he dropped his arms.

"I apologize, Sakura-chan." Lee ran over to the chair and set it upright. Behind him, Sakura chuckled.

"It's understandable, Lee." He turned around to see her shaking her head. His face hurt from smiling so much.

"Wait, wait, wait, WAIT." The giddiness had started to fade, and Sakura's speech finally sunk it. "Go back _home?"_

Sakura nodded sadly, her pink hair shaking. "I hate for her to have to go back there, but she has nowhere else to go. Her father hasn't been seen since... that day, so I'm guessing it's slightly safe for her to go back there-"

"NO." The force with which Rock Lee said those words shocked even Sakura. "Tenten is coming home with me."

"Are you sure?"

Lee glanced down the hallway, looking at the room where, just behind its thick oak door, his Tenten was resting, recovering... and living. His heart pounded wildly, and he looked back at Sakura.

"I'm sure."

That was three months ago. Ever since Tenten was released, Rock Lee had refused to leave her side. Despite his protests, she had made a bed for herself on the couch in the living room, convincing Lee that she was much more comfortable by the fire. He stayed with her whenever he could, even turning down mission opportunities to aid her in changing, or eating, or even just staying to keep her company. Every moment he spent with her felt like a dream that he never wanted to end.

There were nights where he'd wake up sweating, his sleep having been invaded by memories of the day he found Tenten: her bloody body, lying on the floor of the destroyed kitchen; her lifeless eyes, staring straight up at him; the feel of her cold, dead skin in his arms as he raced her to the hospital, the rain washing away some of the blood. He'd sit up shaking, tears forming in the pit of his eyes, where the images of his dreams were still imprinted. But then he'd go padding down the hallway to the living room and see Tenten, sleeping on his couch, breathing lightly. His heart would slow again, and he'd smile, comforted again.

Now, Tenten rolled over next to him, still sleeping. She felt bad for sleeping so much; there were often days where she would never be awake when he was. He didn't complain, though. He knew that her medicine caused the constant drowsiness. As long as she was happy and recovered, he was happy.

Lee leaned over and gently stroked her cheek. He loved the feeling of her smooth skin against his. Tenten sighed again, and her eyes opened slowly, lighting Lee's world. She smiled sleepily at him as she sat up. Lightning flashed outside of the window, and she looked around.

"Oh. Did I fall asleep again?" she asked guiltily. Lee chuckled lightly and nodded. Embarrassment caused Tenten to look down at the blanket. "I'm sorry. It's getting really annoying, passing out when all I want to do is stay awake.

"Hey, it is no problem with me." Lee opened his arms widely, expectant. The kunoichi laughed quietly, then crawled across the couch. She leaned against his chest, and Lee let his arms down, wrapping them gently around her.

"I am so happy you are here," he muttered to her, as he did every night. After the first fifteen times, he started to wonder if she got tired of hearing his gratitude for her presence. But she always smiled, so he was content.

"I am too, Rock Lee." Tenten looked up at him, her large brown eyes shining- with what, he couldn't tell. As she held her gaze, she opened her mouth to say something. Lee leaned down closer to her perfect face, and-

_BOOM._

_You roll out of bed, and down onto your knees,_

_And for a moment, you can hardly breathe..._

The loud peal of thunder tore Rock Lee back into consciousness. Sheets and pillows went flying every which way as he rolled out of bed in surprise. His head hit the floor with a thud, and he growled in pain.

"What the..." Slowly, Lee rose to his knees, rubbing the back of his head and looking around him. Outside of a window, a storm raged, throwing bullets of water against the glass. Lightning illuminated the room, and with a quick glance around, he recognized his bed and his dresser. He was in his room. But... how? Wasn't he on the couch with-

"_Tenten!"_ Lee jumped to his feet, adrenaline suddenly racing through him. She had to still be in the living room. He probably dozed off and walked back to his bed in his sleep. It wouldn't be the first time that he'd done that. That had to mean Tenten was still here... right?

Without giving it a second though, Lee tore down the hallway towards the living room.

_...Wondering, "Was she really here?_

_Is she standing in my room?"_

"_Tenten?"_

Lee stumbled into the living room, catching himself from falling into a chair. The living room looked exactly as he remembered it- the fire was roaring in the fireplace, and the rain was catching itself on his window sill. Thunder rumbled outside, adding a soundtrack to the scene. His couch was lit up by the warm glow of the burning wood in the fireplace.

And there, on the couch, was a red fleece blanket... covering a petite figure, who was nestled in between its warm folds.

Lee's heart thudded against his sternum so hard he thought it would burst out of his chest. Slowly, gently, he tiptoed towards the couch, not believing his eyes. The figure underneath the blanket sighed, moving the blanket ever so slightly. For a moment he froze, lingering over the couch.

Then, with all the quickness of pulling off a bandage, he yanked the blanket off and saw...

"Hinata?"

_No, she's not._

Hinata blinked slowly, letting herself wake up before sitting up and stretching. She turned her head slowly and looked straight at Lee.

He could feel his heart breaking inside of him.

"Oh, Lee. You're awake." Hinata stood up, straightening her clothes and fixing her messy hair as she spoke. "How are you feeling."

"What are you doing here?" Lee asked after a painful silence. The words were hoarse. Hinata looked at him, concern spreading over her delicate face.

"Well, Neji was worried about you." Her voice was small, as if she was afraid of breaking Lee with her words. "He sent me over here to check on you, but you were asleep. So... I guess I fell asleep waiting for you to wake up. I'm sorry if I startled you. It was rather weird of me to just be sleeping on your couch... I'm sorry."

"No... it's fine." Lee sank down onto the couch, pain radiating throughout his chest. His face must have given something away, because Hinata frowned and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked in that quiet voice of hers. He just shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. A fragile silence fell between them as she waited for Lee to speak. Finally, he drew a ragged breath.

"I... had that dream again." Hinata bit her lip. Unable to look at her, Lee focused his gaze on his hands, shaking in his lap. "The same one as last week. I... she..."

"... was alive." The words stung just as much as seeing Hinata on the couch instead of Tenten. Tears welled up in his eyes, against his will, and he closed his eyes tightly. With all his might, he prayed that _this_ cold reality was actually the nightmare, and he'd wake up any second, Tenten still in his arms.

"Yeah... I just wish... Hinata, if I had gotten there sooner-" His voice broke at the same time his will did. The tears he had been holding back fell from his eyes like the rain from the clouds outside. He folded in onto himself, letting the sobs take over him.

"Oh, Lee." Hinata scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around him, patting his right arm with the other. "There was nothing you could do. I know how you felt about her."

"We never even had a chance," he managed in between shaky gasps. "I was too weak... I... loved her, Hinata. And now..."

Hinata could think of nothing to say that would pacify him. Lee's sobs filled the room as he remembered how the dream felt- watching his Tenten sleep, holding her in his arms, feeling her warm breath on his skin...

None of that was ever going to happen. His Tenten was dead.

Lee wrapped his arms around his chest and squeezed himself tightly, as if his arms were the only things keeping him whole inside.

The storm raged.

_'Cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone... gone. _


End file.
